Book Recommendation
Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD
I discovered Women Who Run With the Wolves not long after it was first released in the early 1990s. I was in graduate school at the time doing research for my thesis on the feminine principle in spiritual traditions. Thirty years later, that same copy sits in a prominent spot on the desk where I write. Its close proximity keeps me connected to my essential power.
Much of what I read during that period of research was disheartening. I was hoping for stories of female empowerment, in part to bolster the point of my thesis, but mostly to inspire other women and help me understand my own place in religion and spirituality. Yet themes of female disempowerment were far too prevalent.
Then, in all the ways the rest had been lacking, the Wild Woman Archetype leapt from the pages of Women Who Run With the Wolves. She was colorful, vibrant, powerful, strong, complex, unapologetic, fierce, and deeply spiritual. Through her, I remembered who I was. I didn’t even know I had forgotten.
When I am bogged down by responsibility and routine. When I am spending too much time performing and people-pleasing. When I have chosen work over play one too many times. When I am exhausted with worry. It’s then I know I need to reconnect with her. For me that usually means heading to the woods.
No matter what season of life you are in, the Wild Woman Archetype will inspire and fortify you.